Chapter 9: The Wedding
We dated for a bit over a year and unlike George and Angelina who had an on again off again, casual, friends with benefits like relationship we were consistent. We dated for around ten months before he proposed.
It was a bit of a shock for me when he did. I thought it was like any of the other dates we had been on before. We had gone to a few family functions like birthdays and dinners. Me and Molly had made up previously though it did make for an awkward first dinner. I was even his date to Bills Wedding. I knew it was serious. I just wasn't sure how fa along he thought we were. We had talked about what we want to happen when the war was over, and what kind of house and family and stuff like that. I knew he was in it for the long haul. I just figured that he would wait until after the war was over.
We were out to dinner at a nice restaurant and it was just after we received desert. I think he had been building up the courage to ask me for a while because he had been a little off. But I had just assumed that he was worried over his little brother and his friends running around on their secret mission for Dumbledore. It was late August and it was quite humid outside so I was wearing a dress to try and stay cool. Looking back now maybe a did suspect something, I not really the type to wear dresses.
He got down on one knee and presented me with a lovely small square black diamond set into a feminine gold band. Then he asked me for my hand in marriage. I was speechless for all of five minutes. By this time, we had attracted a lot of attention. The way he was doing it was very muggle. But he knew that was the way I fantasised about because of all the Romantic Comedies I had forced him to watch over the past year.
By know he was clearly very nervous and was thinking that he had done it wrong or that it was too soon. It wasn't until some man from across the room said "Well are you going to answer the Lad?" that I answered. I guess he was sympathetic to the situation, and Fred's growing panic.
Blushing like a maniac I whispered Yes. I was nodding my head furiously and then my Yes's slowly got louder in volume till I was practically shouting. To shut me up Fred stood and kissed me. He then slipped the ring on to my finger and kissed me again.
: * MP * :
So the day of the wedding dawned and it was not bright or clear. It was clouded over and looked like it was going to rain. I was glad we were having it inside the Burrow and that it wasn't a big wedding. It was happening only three days after Christmas on the 28th of December and it was only going to be a very small affair.
There was only going to be about twenty people in attendance. Molly and Arthur, Bill and Fleur, Charlie, Ginny, George and Angelina, my parents, Lee Jorden, Helen Steers, Briar and Justin (my friends from Hufflepuff) and finally several order members including Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin and Kingsley Shakelbolt. So with a bit of magic and an undetectable extension charm we were going to be married in the lounge-room of the Burrow.
Due to the small nature, and the worry over her children, their friends and other family Molly wasn't so fussed with the cleaning of the burrow like she was with Bill wedding. Not to mention everything had been done then and that was barely six months ago. Not to mention the sting that a quarter of her children wouldn't be in attendance. One of whom she didn't even know if they were safe. Not to mention his two friends with him who she had come to think of as another son and daughter.
Anyway that wasn't the point. The point was it was a small interment gathering that was more or less like a slightly larger version of a Sunday lunch. Ironic considering the wedding was on a Sunday. We didn't want to arouse the Death Eater suspicions that there was another wedding or something else important going on. We didn't want to give them something to attack like they had Bill and Fleur's. Even still with the exception of Ron, Harry, Hermione and Percy it was everyone we cared about and wanted to be there was there and in attendances.
We had decided that we would do the muggle tradition of not seeing the bride for 24 hours before the wedding. This wasn't technically hard as we both still owned separate apartments. However, we had still spent quite a few nights as a couple over at each-others place. And I think this will be one of the longest times for us not to be in contact. Since we started dating 14 months ago.
Now I know what you're thinking, there are co-dependent and cannot do anything without the other and that's not true. What with the war and not talking for seven years, we decided that it was best to stay in contact with each other. Trust me we learnt that the hard way.
So we both stayed at our respective apartments for the night. Then Flooed over to the Burrow at different times.
The wedding was set to start at 3:30pm in the afternoon and then have the reception at 4pm right after it. But that morning as I flooed in to the Burrow at 10am, I learnt that our officiant who was kindly not notifying the ministry of our wedding until after it happened, was going to be detained by a wedding that was happening before ours and that our wedding would have to be pushed back an hour or two.
Now this is where most Brides would fly off the handle. But I knew that it was unavoidable and he was doing us a favour. So I started sending the delayed message to the guest. With the help of Molly, we were done in five minutes due to the shortness of the list.
I asked her to send the message to Fred and tell him to delay coming over for an hour and a half as that should give the officiant plenty of time. I then got stuck in and started organising and decorating, to keep my mind off of my nerves. Don't get me wrong I was ecstatic to marry Fred but I was nervous non the less.
By the time three hours had past I was running out of things to do to set up for the wedding. I was no longer need to set out the chairs and decorate them. Molly didn't need any wore help in the kitchen. To be honest I don't think she ever did, I think she was just humouring my nervous energy. The tables had been set for the dinner afterwards. There was a dance floor and a radio station all ready to take the cue to start and provide us with music for the wedding. I even laid a carpet between the rows of chairs to act as an aisle. Only my mum who had turned up at 1;30 recognised the setting and smiled at me.
I was just about to start redoing things when she dragged me up in to Ginny's room to start getting ready, ten minutes after getting there.
Without me realising it, Helen, Briar and Fleur had arrived and gone up to Ginny's room to help me get ready. When they saw the state I was in they sent me to have a shower and clean myself up.
Getting back up to the room half an hour later I felt refreshed and ready to start the torcher … I mean beautification. They asked me to turn around so that they could observe what they had to work with. Conferred in words that went over my head, and got to work.
Two and a half hours later they were almost done with me. But they had stopped so that they themselves could get ready. This gave me time to inspect the damage. I felt rubbed raw, and primped and prodded. But as I looked in the mirror I was amazed. I was sure that they were going to turn me in to some princess who sticks her noise up at work. And that just wasn't me. I was someone who loved hard work and working hard. I loved getting dirty.
No what they had done was enhanced my best features. In a sense they lit a candle on my potential beauty and made me shimmer and shine. I glowed with contented happiness there was no sign of the nervous wreck I was only a few hours ago.
They made my sapphire blue eyes pop. Soften my sun roughened features, and lightened the texture of my skin. They enlarged my eyes with a cat's eye flick and gave me both a sultry look and one of innocence as well with their use of eye shadow and mascara. I have no idea how they pulled that of. They added just a touch of colour to my checks to enhance the glow. And finally coloured my pouty full lips in a deep red to bring out and contrast everything else they have done.
For my hair they painstakingly curled my obnoxiously straight black hair. And pulled it in to a twist at the crown of my head so that it was half up and half down and a few curls fell to frame my face.
I shimmied in to my blue undergarments and slipped on the simple white dress that was going over the top. It had a sweetheart neckline and full length sleaves. It hugged me to my waist in a corset design and then flowed to my ankles with a slight poof.
My jewellery was simple. I wore a gold necklace with a small yellow diamond pendent that hung halfway between the top of my dress and my neck. It was a gift from my maternal grandfather who was a muggle born for my seventeenth birthday. Perched on the top of my head was a tiara I was borrowing from my mother, it was the same one that she wore at her wedding and her mother and so on all the way back to my Great, great, great grandmother. It was a simple gold metal bent, twisted and worked in to spiralling floral patterns. It was very delicate. And then I wore my beautiful engagement ring from my loving soon to be husband.
For the shoes I wore my new mid height heels in a creamy white. They were made of the same fabric as my wedding dress and matched the simpleness of my look to perfection.
On the whole I looked exactly how I always imagined I would look on my wedding day. I smiled at the women in the room and thanked them profusely for helping me get ready. I asked Molly if she knew if the boys were ready or if she knew if the officiant was here yet. She said that she would go and check.
While Molly was gone I looked at the others, they all wore dress robes Ginny wore a hunter green set that flattered her colouring very nicely. Fleur was in a baby blue set that praised her vela nature to perfection. Briar was in a violet set that was the same colour as her eyes which seemed to make them sparkle. Helen was in red set that offset her golden brown hair. My mother wore a deep blue set that made her eyes that where so like mine shine, or it may have been me. Molly came back in and she was in a light green set that complemented her figure. She told us that everyone was ready and that we would start in ten minutes.
The others started to leave. My mother was heading towards the door when she suddenly spoke "Wait!" everyone froze and looked at her. She was remerging through her purse looking for something and muttering to herself. We all looked at each other confusedly and shrugged not knowing what was wrong with her.
"Um… Mum what's wrong?" I finally asked her after she was searching for what felt like several minutes.
"You can't do it. Not without … AH! Here it is!" she said almost to herself. She was brandishing something that looked like a coin, but it didn't look like any Gallon, Sickle or Knut I had ever seen. It looked almost muggle. I looked at the others they seemed to be just as confused as I was. Seeing our look's, she explained "It's a sixpence. On her wedding day it is good luck for the bride to have 'Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something blue and a Sixpence in her Shoe.' It's a muggle superstition" She came over bent down and placed the little coin in my shoe.
"Thanks mum." I said when she stood back up I hugged her.
"Ok, enough stalling it's time for you to get married." She said with tears in her eyes.
We walked down the stairs and that was where I meet my dad. The others went in and sat down except for Briar who was going to be my Maid of Honour, George was of cause Fred's Best Man.
They must have signalled that we were ready because the wedding march started to play. I looked out the window to see that the weather had finally made up its mind what it was going to do. But it wasn't raining. It was snowing. And must have been for some time as everything was blanketed in white. And the snow was drifting peacefully on the slight breeze falling only lightly.
I picked up my bouquet of Snowdrop and Daphne from the hall table and waled with my father down the aisle I had lain several hours previously towards my one true love, my soon to be Husband whose welcoming smile and mischievous twinkle in his eyes warmed my already full heart.
Fred wore his promised jeans but he also wore a nice button down black shirt and a white bowtie. George at his side wore a grin, jeans and a white button down with a black tie. Both looked very respectable but I thought Fred was the more Handsome of the two.
In front of most of our close friends and family we proclaimed our love and commitment to each other and seeled it with magic and a kiss.
Please let me know what you think. Reviews and Comments are appreciated. Thanks for sticking with me. I'll try and upload the next chapter ASAP
Love Always,
Mistress XoX
